When Will the Judgment Begin?

When does investigation of the cases of each
human being who has ever lived begin? Is it going on now? We are
told the day will come. Does it make any difference when it
begins? Our first story illustrates the fact that our knowledge
or ignorance does not hasten or delay the work of judgment.

Silencing the Messengers

An African chief had done something for which
the English government wished to punish him. A gunboat had been
sent out for this purpose. Upon arrival, a runner brought the
first word of warning to the chief that the boat had entered the
river. If the chief knew in time, the people could be warned.
They would have time to gather their belongings and hide deep in
the jungle far from the reach of the cannon balls which would
then destroy only their simple mud huts.

Instead of appreciating the warning, the
haughty chief had the courier killed. The next day a second
runner arrived to tell him how far the boat had come up the
river. This poor fellow also lost his life. Day after day, other
couriers met the same fate.

When the last messenger arrived, the people
had time only to flee for their lives. It was already too late
to save their belongings. But still the warning was rejected and
scorned by the native chief. The people remained in their
village unaware of the impending disaster.

Of course, the chiefs rejection and the
people's ignorance did not keep the English boat away nor delay
the day of judgment. Suddenly the jungle echoed with the thunder
of cannons. The huts of the kraal collapsed as if made of
cardboard. Terrified shrieks filled the air as the villagers
scrambled for .a place to hide from the horrible judgment
falling on their unprotected village.

Thus the judgment was executed. It should be
pointed out here that there are three parts to a judgment. The
first is the investigation, the second is the sentencing, and
the third is executing the sentence that has been set. In the
above story, the British government had already investigated the
deeds of this chief and decided the sentence. Now they were
executing the judgment.

The Day of Atonement

Late in the summer of 1844, those who had
been pioneering the message that Jesus was soon to return, came
to the conclusion that Jesus was to come on the 10th day of the
7th month in the year of Jubilee--translated on modern calendars
as October 22, 1844. One of the chief leaders of this "Advent"
movement was a lay Baptist preacher by the name of William
Miller. Repeatedly preachers and laymen alike checked and
rechecked every step in their calculation of the time and every
verse of Scripture that seemed to relate to it. Yes, they
decided, it had to be. Jesus would appear that very year.

Patiently, Miller explained to his waiting
family how they had arrived at such a startling conclusion. "God
gave the Jews certain ceremonies associated with their sanctuary
that were predictions of the future. In the spring was a
ceremony called 'Passover.' This predicted Jesus' crucifixion.
It is an historical fact that Jesus died on the very day of the
Passover. A few days after Passover, was the 'Wave-sheaf
ceremony. It symbolized the first fruits of the harvest and
predicted Jesus resurrection. Christ became the 'first fruits'
of the grave, and arose on the very day predicted.

"But in the fall of the year was another
ceremony which represented judgment. We usually think of the
judgment as associated with Jesus second coming. This ceremony
came on the 10th day of the seventh Jewish month.

"On the Day of Atonement, the Jewish priest
cleansed the sanctuary of sin by taking blood from the sacrifice
into the Most Holy Place of the Temple. Remember, the
twenty-three-hundred-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14 predicts that
the sanctuary would be cleansed around 1844. If the judgment
takes place on the Day of Atonement in 1844, it will come on
October 22, 1844. 1 believe Jesus will come on that date."

"But, Father, what about the scripture that
says, 'For ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.'?" she
asked persistently.

Father explained to her that while a man
among men, Jesus did not know the time. Even the angels didn't.
But Jesus said that the Father did know the time, and He would
reveal it at the right time. Surely they felt, now was the time.

Thus, propelled by a sense of duty and filled
with unspeakable joy, the Millers joined other believers in
preparing for their Lord and in seeking to warn the world.

Visits to the family grave plots were no
longer sad. Each visit only made them more eager to see the
coming of Jesus. How precious it seemed as they looked forward
to being reunited with their three little ones who had passed to
their rest.

Time was spent by each family member, old and
young alike, searching their hearts to be sure that they were
ready to see Jesus. Thousands upon thousands were converted to
Jesus. It is estimated that over 100,000 people believed the
"Advent" message that Jesus was coming soon.

October 22 finally arrived. Believers
gathered together. A feeling of suspense filled the air. The
usual activities were done with a sense of quiet anticipation.
In the evening they gathered together for worship--waiting for
the moment when Jesus should appear.

Many repeated the verses they knew by heart:

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be." Matthew 24:27

"Behold He cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him... and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Even so, Amen." Revelation 1:7

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with
the trump of God. and the dead in Christ shall rise first.- then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. and so shall we
ever be with the Lord. " 1 Thessalonians 4.16,17

In the Miller home, as in other homes, these
texts were repeated and the promises claimed. Each family member
was wrapped in thought. Some slipped away to pray alone. They
searched the sky for the first sign of Jesus' appearing.

But the time passed by. Eleven o'clock came,
11:30 p.m, 12 Midnight! But Jesus did not come. Then the
realization came that they had been mistaken. The disappointment
was intense and bitter. Sounds of sobbing could be heard from
some. "Why, oh, why hadn't Jesus come?" They had so longed to
see Him.

"Why hadn't He come?" was the question
uppermost in everyone's mind. It was hard to pick up their
duties the next day. Each task only forced the disappointment
deeper into their hearts and minds. Skeptics took opportunity to
taunt them, and they had no answer for their jeers.

Some tried to put the experience behind them
by simply denying or ignoring it. Others decided they must have
made a mistake in figuring the date and continued to search for
a new date only to be disappointed again.

But some were determined to find out what
their mistake was. They came together to search the scriptures
anew pleading with God to show them their error and claiming the
promise of the Bible that if we seek with all our hearts, we
will find truth. They refused to let their disappointment come
between them and the Savior whose Book they loved. Nor could
they deny that the Holy Spirit had been with them and given
power to their teaching.

As they searched the Word of God their
attention turned to one word in Daniel 8:14. It was the word
"sanctuary". The prophecy had said that the sanctuary was to be
cleansed after 2300 days. They had thought that the sanctuary
represented the earth, but did it? That was the popular opinion
in Bible commentaries of the day, but were they right? In their
investigation they learned that there is no Scripture evidence
supporting this popular view.

In the old covenant ceremonies, sins were
symbolically brought into the earthly sanctuary morning and
evening, as the blood from the slain lambs was sprinkled before
the inner veil. On the Day of Atonement these sins were
symbolically removed, and the earthly sanctuary was cleansed
from these sins.

The earthly sanctuary was declared by Paul to
be the sanctuary of the first covenant. Could it be that the new
covenant had a sanctuary too? Paul, in fact, said it did. There
is not even a hint that the sanctuary represents the earth, but
rather God's throne in heaven. (Hebrews 8:1-5)

Thus a whole new study opened before them.
The earthly sanctuary was only a prototype, a symbol, of the
real sanctuary in heaven. There is where our sins are really
recorded. There is where Jesus pleads His blood for our sins as
we kneel in prayer and confess them day by day.

"Could it be," they wondered, "that the Day
of Atonement, when judgment began and the sanctuary was cleansed
of sin, represents the day when the heavenly judgment begins and
the records of sin in that sanctuary will be inspected, cleansed
and erased too? And so they studied and prayed. Associated with
the text in Daniel 8:14 on the cleansing of the sanctuary, they
found this text in Daniel 7:10: "The judgment was set and the
books were opened."

Thus is pictured a judgment scene in heaven,
not on earth. In that judgment the record books will reveal
whether or not the penalty for each sin has been paid. The sins
that have been confessed and forsaken will be blotted out
forever. They were paid for by Jesus death. When the record of
every person who has ever lived has been reviewed by the
heavenly court, the books will be cleaned up and Jesus will come
to give everyone their eternal rewards. Every person will either
have his sins blotted out, or if his sins haven't been confessed
and forgiven, his name blotted out of the book of life.

As the people studied, new light came to
them. God's Word had not failed. Their disappointment was simply
because they had not understood the prophecies completely.

They were comforted as they saw that Jesus'
disciples had been similarly disappointed at Jesus' crucifixion
because even they had misunderstood the prophecies about the
Messiah. Just as God used the mistake of the disciples to point
the attention of the people to the Savior, God had used their
mistake to draw the minds of the many around the world to Jesus'
second coming and to the judgment that must precede it.

The day is still coming when we will face our
Judge and hear our sentence or reward pronounced. How awful it
would be to think you are His and then hear Him say, "I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" How
important it is to be sure we are among those who hear Him say,
"Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you." (Matthew 7:23; 25:34)

May God bless you as you open your heart day
by day to your Heavenly Father saying; "Search me, 0 God, and
know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be
any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
(Psalm 139:23,24)